Collective behaviour researcher Professor Iain Couzin FRS (Fellow of the Royal Society) has once again been included on the prestigious Global Highly Cited Researchers list compiled by Clarivate. This is the seventh time since 2018 that Couzin’s work has earned him a place among the small group of researchers whose publications shape scientific progress worldwide.
Couzin is speaker of the Cluster of Excellence “Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour”, a professor of biodiversity and collective behaviour at the University of Konstanz, and director at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB).
Among the top one percent across disciplines
Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers list is based on Web of Science data and identifies scientists whose publications rank among the top one percent most cited for their field and publication year over the last 11 years. Inclusion in the Highly Cited Researchers list signals that a researcher’s work is used as a key reference by peers around the world over many years, demonstrating significant and broad influence in their fields of research.
For the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list, Clarivate recognized 6,868 individuals with 7,131 awards from more than 1,300 institutions in 61 countries and regions. (The number of awards exceeds the number of unique individuals because some researchers are recognized in more than one field of research.) By country, Germany received 363 awards.
Couzin is listed in the “Cross-Field” category, which recognizes researchers whose influence extends across several disciplines. Couzin’s work combines behavioural biology, physics, computer science, and neuroscience to understand how collective phenomena emerge – from neural circuits to insect swarms, fish schools, and human social groups.
“It’s wonderful to see our work at the University of Konstanz and at the Max Planck Institute recognized once again,” says Iain Couzin. “This distinction truly belongs to the brilliant students, postdocs, and colleagues who make our collaborative environment so creative and inspiring.”
A research hub for collective behaviour
At the University of Konstanz and MPI-AB, Couzin and his team have helped to establish a world-leading hub for the study of collective behaviour. The Cluster of Excellence Collective Behaviour brings together biologists, physicists, computer scientists, economists, and psychologists to investigate how groups move, decide, and adapt.
Using technologies such as holographic virtual reality for animals, large-scale 3D tracking, deep learning–based computer vision, and purpose-built infrastructures like the Imaging Hangar for tracking tens of thousands of animals simultaneously, Couzin’s group has developed experimentally grounded theory for how individuals integrate information and how collective decisions emerge in space and time.
“Iain Couzin's work has been instrumental in establishing a top research institution in the field of collective behaviour at the University of Konstanz. As a result, an international cross-disciplinary research community has been established in Konstanz that has reshaped our understanding of the ‘logic of the swarm’,” emphasizes Professor Dirk Leuffen, Vice Rector for Research, Innovation and Impact. “I congratulate Iain Couzin on, once again, ranking among the most frequently cited researchers worldwide. His discoveries reveal the principles behind collective behaviour and inspire advances in research and application – from swarm robotics to the analysis of complex societies.”
International recognition
Couzin’s inclusion on the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list adds to a series of major honours in recent years. He has received, among others, the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize (Germany’s most prestigious research award), the Lagrange Prize for fundamental contributions to complexity science, the Fyssen International Prize, and in 2025 was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of his pioneering work on collective animal behaviour.
“These honours reflect the long-term vision behind creating a truly interdisciplinary centre for studying collective behaviour,” says Iain Couzin. “They underscore how understanding collective dynamics – from neural circuits to animal societies – is becoming key to tackling the challenges of our rapidly changing world.”
Key facts
• Professor Iain D. Couzin FRS is speaker of the Cluster of Excellence Collective Behaviour, a professor of biodiversity and collective behaviour at the University of Konstanz, and director at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB).
• He has now been named a Global Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate seven times (2018–2022, 2024, 2025).
• Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers list identifies scientists whose publications rank in the top 1% by citations for their field and year, based on Web of Science data.
• Couzin’s research combines theory, experiments, and advanced technologies (such as virtual reality and large-scale 3D tracking) to uncover general principles of collective motion and decision-making across species.
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- Iain D. Couzin:
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Caption: Professor Iain D. Couzin FRS is speaker of the Cluster of Excellence Collective Behaviour, a professor of biodiversity and collective behaviour at the University of Konstanz, and director at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB).
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Caption: Couzin analyses how collective phenomena emerge – from fish schools to human social groups.
Copyright: Department Collective Behavior